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It’s no secret that practising yoga can have powerful effects on our mental and physical health – and is often taught in schools, hospitals, or even prisons for that reason. As well as helping to improve strength and flexibility, yoga is also an excellent way to calm the mind and reduce stress and anxiety.
There are various types of yoga, including hot yoga, which is considered one of the most popular.
But what exactly is hot yoga? And why is it so good for you? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is hot yoga?
As the name suggests, hot yoga is yoga practised in a hot environment. Temperatures can vary across yoga studios but usually range between 27C and 38C.
Performing yoga in hot temperatures intensifies the workout, which can bring added benefits for your heart, lungs, and muscles.
The terms ‘hot yoga’ and ‘Bikram yoga’ are sometimes used interchangeably. However, while both involve practising yoga in a hot room, the two are very different. Bikram yoga is a far more specific form of yoga, where 26 poses and two breathing exercises are repeated continuously throughout a 90-minute class. Studios are heated to 40C, and it’s a very serious, near-silent practice – one that’s often described as ‘cult-like’. Chanting is also practised in Bikram yoga classes.
Bikram yoga has seen a big drop in popularity in recent years due to serious assault allegations against its founder, Bikram Choudhury. Because of the controversy, many studios moved to use the word ‘hot yoga’ to describe their heated sessions instead.
Hot yoga is far more versatile than Bikram yoga – and more enjoyable too! It can include any style of yoga, and the room temperature, as well as the class length, can vary. This means it’s better suited for beginners who might want a less intense temperature and a shorter class. Also, hot yoga tends to involve interaction between people and music is often played, meaning it feels far more relaxed.
What are the benefits of hot yoga?
If yoga itself is so good for us, you might be wondering why there’s a need to turn the heat up. Because the heat makes things more challenging, research shows hot yoga can provide additional benefits. We’ll cover some of these below.
1. Hot yoga can improve flexibility
Stretching when your muscles are warm is much safer than stretching muscles when they’re cold, which is why warming up before exercise is so important. It makes sense then that stretching when your entire body is warm can boost flexibility.
By helping you achieve a wider range of motion, hot yoga can make certain poses – particularly ones that require deep stretching – easier to get into. Because your muscles are more relaxed, difficult poses and positions can become more accessible, which improves flexibility.
There’s science to back this up too: this review of 43 studies found that consistent practice of hot yoga may result in better improvements in flexibility, mobility, and balance, particularly in the hips, shoulders, and hamstrings, compared to non-heated yoga.
2. Hot yoga may improve bone mass
Bone mass naturally decreases with age. In particular, research shows that menopause significantly speeds up bone loss and increases the risk of osteoporosis, with women losing around 20% of bone mass.
Studies suggest that long-term, consistent hot yoga may help to improve bone mass and strength. This may be the result of beneficial, weight-bearing stress of yoga poses that signal to bones to become denser and stronger over time.
3. Hot yoga may boost heart health
Hot yoga has also been linked with benefits for heart health. Higher temperatures mean your heart has to work harder to pump blood towards the skin to keep you cool. To achieve this, it beats faster, giving you an invigorating cardiovascular workout.
This study found that hot yoga gets your heart pumping significantly more than traditional yoga.. As a result of the heart and muscles working harder, research has linked hot yoga with improvements in heart health and metabolic health.
4. Hot yoga may reduce stress
Yoga is a well-documented way of reducing stress levels, anxiety, and tension. As a general practice, it emphasises deep breathing, encouraging you to acknowledge and switch off from external factors causing stress.
Because hot yoga requires you to focus more intently on your breathing, it can be even more beneficial for reducing stress. In this study, a single session of hot yoga was found to improve mood and reduce stress. In another study, people who followed a six-week hot yoga programme reported improvements in life satisfaction, peace of mind, and stress levels.
Yoga can also help to improve self-efficacy (the belief that you’re in control over your own behaviour and social environment), which is known to reduce stress.
5. Hot yoga burns more calories
Standard yoga can burn anywhere between 180-460 calories, depending on the intensity, duration of the class, and how much you weigh.,
However, because you sweat a lot more during hot yoga, your body has to work harder to regulate temperature, resulting in more calories burned.
This study, which assessed the effects of hot yoga and room-temperature yoga, found that people burned more calories in heated classes.
6. Hot yoga can improve skin health
A less expected perk of hot yoga is its benefits for skin health.
Sweating improves circulation, resulting in more oxygen-rich blood reaching skin cells. Research shows it can also strengthen skin barrier function, helping to protect against external germs, improving moisture loss, and encouraging the release of impurities from the skin.
Beyond providing a post-yoga glow, these effects can help to nourish the skin from the inside out. For example, sweating from exercise can encourage your skin to produce more collagen, which has been shown to improve skin hydration and elasticity.
7. Hot yoga may help to regulate blood sugar levels
Research suggests hot yoga may be especially helpful for people with type 2 diabetes, or those who are at risk of developing it.
According to experts, mind-body practices like yoga may help to lower blood sugar levels as effectively as some diabetes medications. They also add that yoga can help to improve pain, sleep quality, and weight management, all of which can help to reduce the risk of diabetes complications.
Are there any risks to hot yoga?
While there are plenty of potential benefits to hot yoga, it’s worth being aware of any potential risks and steps you can take to protect yourself. These include…
- A risk of overstretching. This is because the heat artificially warms muscles up and makes them looser than usual – making overstretching more likely.
- Exhaustion and dehydration. Experts generally agree that hot yoga may not be suitable for people with heart or blood pressure problems, or those who’ve previously suffered from heat stroke or intolerance, or problems with dehydration.
- The risk of infection. Hot, humid studios can be a breeding ground for germs. So if attending a class, it’s important to look for studios that are clean and well-maintained. It can also help to use your own mat and towel.
How can I start hot yoga?
If you’re new to yoga, you might like to consider trying a regular yoga class first. Then, once you’re more familiar with the poses and breathing techniques, you can search for hot yoga classes suitable for beginners. This is a gentler way to ease yourself in before you heat things up. Check out our introduction to yoga for some tips on finding your first class.
When you’re ready to try hot yoga, websites like YogaFinder and YogaTrail allow you to search for yoga classes – including hot yoga – in specific locations. These platforms often provide detailed information about the studios, instructors, and class offerings.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can also be useful when looking for hot yoga classes. Try searching for local yoga studios or communities in your area and checking their posts or updates. Many studios and instructors use social media to promote their classes.
Once you have a list of potential options, you can compare schedules, pricing, and requirements. The yoga industry is unregulated, meaning there are no qualifications required by law to teach yoga. But, to get an idea of a studio’s reputation and the quality of its hot yoga classes, it can help to look for any reviews or testimonials.
It’s also worth finding out what temperature the room will be heated to and what style of yoga will be taught before you arrive, so that you know what to expect.
Tips for your first hot yoga class
To help make your first experience with hot yoga as safe and comfortable as possible, we’ve pulled together the following tips…
- Choose a class with a lower heat to see how you cope with it, and whether you really need or want to up the temperature any further.
- Rinse off any oils or body lotions that will make your skin more slippery once your body starts to sweat, so you’re not sliding around.
- Invest in a sticky yoga mat to prevent slipping as much as possible once you get sweaty.
- Bring a towel and water bottle with you, and be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after the class.
- Know your limits and take rest if you need to. Feeling light-headed or dizzy during a class is a sign that you need to take a break – or maybe even end the class early.
- Wear something cool and comfortable. Tight-fitting, sweat-wicking clothing is recommended as looser clothing can trap heat.
- Allow yourself time to adjust to the environment. If you need to sit still for portions of the class and practise breathing, that’s perfectly okay.
- Avoid overstretching by easing gently into poses.
Final thoughts…
Research shows that hot yoga can be an excellent way to improve both your physical and mental health. While any form of yoga is good, hot yoga can bring even more benefits, including for heart, skin, and bone health, as well as stress management.
That said, due to the high temperatures, hot yoga isn’t for everyone. To browse other ways to stay active, head over to our fitness and exercise section. Here, you’ll find information on everything from team sports to home workouts and martial arts.
Do you have any experiences of hot yoga that you’d like to share? Are you considering trying it? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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